Axios says EU Ambassador Sondland will testify next week:
U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is expected to testify next Wednesday before the House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine, despite being blocked by the State Department from appearing at a closed-door deposition this week, 4 congressional sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: One source familiar with the rescheduling tells Axios that after the State Department pulled the plug on Sondland’s testimony, Republicans close to Trump encouraged the president to let the ambassador come before the committees. Trump’s allies believe Sondland’s testimony will be helpful to their side.
“Republicans are looking for any silver lining they can get,” the source said. “Sondland could be a silver lining … He donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural. He’s a Trump guy. Whereas [former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie] Yovanovitch is a career person.”
I read this crack in the stone wall as a sign of panic. The polling is terrible for Trump, new facets of the scandal are exploding in Republicans’ faces every day, and elected Republicans are tired of tap-dancing around the question of whether it’s appropriate for a president to shake down foreign governments for oppo research.
Sondland is a good little Trumpster, as we know from his text exchange with diplomat Bill Taylor, who laid out the truth of the situation when he wrote, “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
Sondland panicked when he saw that and called Trump, and someone, almost certainly NOT Trump, fed him the policy manual response about “no quid pro quo’s [sic] of any kind” — hours later.
My guess is Trump’s handlers put a hold on Sondland’s appearance earlier this week because they had to assure themselves that he would play ball, and now they have. The administration is so desperate to generate positive talking points that they’re willing to take the risk that Sondland will crack under questioning.
Maybe it’s time for the Dems to bring Mr. Berke back.
MattF
I’d assume that Sondland has never faced a public, professional cross-examination. He should ask Lewandowski for pointers, or maybe not.
FelonyGovt
So they’re going to allow only people they think are favorable to them to testify. I agree, sounds like a panicked response, hoping to generate something to counter the prevailing sense of criminality. I so hope it backfires.
OzarkHillbilly
So is Sondland willing to go to prison for trump? I’m guessing not.
Calouste
Trump’s razor: they’re still not clear on the difference between exonerate and incriminate.
geg6
This guy has never been through a gauntlet like he’s going to go through during his testimony. Isn’t he just some podunk Portland hotelier or something?
If they sic Berke on him, he’ll shred like a wet tissue.
jimmiraybob
In the meantime, does anybody know if the DOJ has ruled on whether a sitting president can turn states evidence and get into the witness protection program?
OzarkHillbilly
@jimmiraybob: I’m wondering if he gets a Secret Service protection detail while doing time in federal lockup.
Chief Oshkosh
Will his testimony be under oath?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
YEah, that million dollar donation through four different shell companies to support an inauguration for the candidate he opposed who then turned around and gave him a non-ceremonial ambassadorship for which he had no qualifications and then meddled in the affairs of a country unrelated to that ambassadorship… what could backfire?
They shouldn’t let him leave
cmorenc
@OzarkHillbilly:
White nationalist prison gangs will gladly provide protection-in-prison for Trump. Quite secure protection! The very best protection! Maybe even without having to become the prison-bitch for some gang leader serving a life sentence as a quid pro quo.
OzarkHillbilly
@Chief Oshkosh: It’s not testimony if it’s not under oath.
Yarrow
No maybe about it. They need to have Berke or someone like him do the questioning.
tokyokie
@geg6: I think you can expect a post from Steve in ATL over that.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so does trump go to Kavanaugh now?
OT: Seems like those records are more relevant than ever now that Erdogan has more influence on US military policy that the Secretary of Defense
jeffreyw
Roger Moore
@FelonyGovt:
And they’re still holding back every scrap of documentation. They know those files are incriminating as hell, and they’ll do everything in their power to block their release.
OzarkHillbilly
@cmorenc: That would be a real service to the tax payers of America.
Mousebumples
DeVos is in trouble for ignoring a judge’s 2018 order regarding student loan forgiveness – newsweek.com/betsy-devos-could-face-jail-after-judge-rules-violated-2018-order-1463764
psycholinguist
Yovanovitch just walked in the door. She called the bluff, let them try and fire her now.
that could be the dam breaking for these clowns.
dmsilev
@jimmiraybob: He’d Tweet out the details of his new identity within about ten seconds.
Amir Khalid
@jimmiraybob:
Isn’t turning state’s evidence usually a deal you cut with the state so it won’t prosecute you? It doesn’t seem to me that POTUS, already immune from prosecution by virtue of his office*, really has that option.
*Per the US DoJ, whose current head also believes POTUS is immune even from criminal investgation.
Marcopolo
So this is a little OT but about this time yesterday John Shimkus, the R congressman from across the river in southern IL, came out and said he was no longer supporting Trump: kmox.radio.com/articles/news/trump-loses-metro-east-ally-john-shimkus-over-syria-decision
You might think this would be considered big news (not as big as the Cardinals advancing to the League playoffs but still). Well, I’ve been checking the St Louis Post Dispatch’s (our major daily paper) website regularly since then. Crickets. Still no reporting on this development.
Anyways, I am surprised (and disappointed) by this.
Kay
@Mousebumples:
DeVos was yelling at Warren on Twitter yesterday. Warren tweeted that DeVos is a crook (paraphrasing!) and DeVos fired back with a nasty Trumpist tweet that Warren is a liar.
There is literally no downside to Democrats attacking DeVos. She’s loathed.
Mike in NC
@cmorenc: I read a profile of Brad Parscale, Trump’s latest campaign manager. He’s a 6’8″ goon who went from apolitical IT nerd to hardcore alt-right fanatic like Bannon and Gorka. Wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have one or two swastika tattoos. Very much looks the part of a white supremacist ex-con.
Adam L Silverman
It’s not a crack that Sondland is testifying. That was announced after Fiona Hill let it be known she would testify next week and that her testimony would be that Sondland and Giuliani, on behalf of the President, took over the Ukrainian portfolio for the US government. The attempt will be to get Sondland in before Hill so he can get his story on the record first and try to frame the information that she is going to divulge. I know Fiona, but not well. She’s sharp. She’s going to be great. And she was only working at the NSC and in the White House because McMaster asked her to, not because she wanted to work for trump. The news media is so bad at understanding the context around all of this and being able to effectively explain it.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman:
You could just post this on a loop for every single issue that comes up and it would be true.
Immanentize
Betty —
That green grocer’s apostrophe really chaps you, yes?
BR
@Adam L Silverman:
Do the Dems on the committee know this? I wonder if they might switch the order of testimony if they did…
OzarkHillbilly
@psycholinguist: Good.
Mousebumples
@Kay: yeah, I definitely can’t stand her… Though I don’t know if there’s any Trump cabinet members that I like. (low quality hires across the board, I think)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
an impeachment inquiry, still.. I think that’s three GOP Govs– also Baker and Whosits in Vermont– supporting the inquiry
Marcopolo
@Kay: I don’t know the timing of the tweets but I was watching the CNN Townhall on LGBTQ issues yesterday & in response to a question from a young trans student Warren specifically named DeVos as an awful Sec of Ed.
TaMara (HFG)
I see it’s going to be another slow news day. I guess we’ll just need to talk recipes and pets.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in NC: I’ve had several friends/acquaintances from eastern Europe tell me that he physically presents, in terms of style, body posture, facial expressions, etc as Russian.
TaMara (HFG)
@Mousebumples: I’m hoping for a looong jail sentence and bankrupting the whole clan for this scheme.
Immanentize
@psycholinguist:
This is why, I assume, Sondland has suddenly agreed to testify.
Adam L Silverman
@Chief Oshkosh: Yes, but it doesn’t matter whether anyone is actually sworn in before testifying to Congress as lying to Congress is a Federal crime regardless of whether one is sworn in.
Kay
They make me nervous. They’re such pros at criminality. I read this and I thought “they have the testimony of the prior witness so now they can get their stories straight”
Come on. None of these people are going to stop lying. It’s a lifestyle. They lie like they breathe.
Leto
@Amir Khalid: He’s immune to federal charges, not state. When he leaves office, state prosecutors can go after him and there’s nothing Barr, Pence, or anyone else can do that’ll help. Turning state patsy would be an option.
@jeffreyw: well now we get to see if the two stolen SC seats set him free.
OzarkHillbilly
@Marcopolo: That is big news, or should be in STL. Or anywhere else in the US for that matter.
Barbara
Stonewalling has gotten Trump pretty far in combating allegations of criminality. The problem is, stonewalling works much better for crimes that require a lot of dots to be connected, and you have to remember that most of the people advising him are used to dealing with allegations of complex financial crimes, not the kind of crimes where people put their hands in a cookie jar when the camera is running. Once the crime is easily comprehended, then all stonewalling does is highlight the absence of facts that might provide context or mitigate the gravity of the offense. “You did what we think you did and there is nothing else that would make the situation better for you.” So yeah, they need to pivot their POV rather quickly given the kind of criminal they are trying to defend.
Immanentize
@TaMara (HFG):
But why aren’t the Democrats doing anything? They could have taken Trump to court to get them to order Trump to turn over those tax returns!!!!
Oh, nevermind.
Leto
@Adam L Silverman: He reminds me of Sloth from The Goonies. About as articulate, too.
Adam L Silverman
@BR: If Congressman Schiff, his committee counsel, his Democratic committee members, and their staffs and counsels don’t realize this, then we have a problem. I expect Schiff understands what is going on.
psycholinguist
@Immanentize: I don’t think so, I don’t think they thought she was not going to show up today, and would follow the prohibition to testify from the White House. Isn’t she the first CURRRENT employee at State to defy the State and come forward (without subpoena) to testify? That’s why this one feels different, at least to me.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hogan’s father, Congressman Hogan, was the first Republican member of the House to come out in favor of impeaching Nixon.
MattF
@Mike in NC: Yes, Parscale is an all-in Trumpie. Trolls and lies galore.
Barbara
@Barbara: I would also say that the developments of the last few days are making Pat Cipollone’s letter look idiotic or even more so.
Mike in DC
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Key metrics on impeachment:
1. Overall approval rating
2. Support for inquiry
3. Support for removal
4. Newspapers calling for removal or resignation
5. Elected Republicans speaking in favor of either or both
SWMBO
OT I was reading some earlier threads, trying to catch up. Everyone was saying that they miss Baud. What happened to Baud? I completely missed it.
Leto
@Immanentize: Maybe you can explain again why the courts move so slow for white men. If an immigration court can rule, in roughly 45 seconds, that a two year old, representing themselves, can be deported, surely other federal judges can move with the same expediency on plain black letter law.
No no, we need definitely need to hear why the defendant is flagrantly breaking the law. Please proceed, counselor.
MattF
@Barbara: Everyone, Rs and Ds alike, agrees that Trump is a mean asshole. Emphasizing this accomplishes nothing. Danger for Trump is in the other stuff: pathological dishonesty, pathological narcissism, and criminality.
Betty Cracker
@Immanentize: There was this sandwich shop near where I used to live that had about a dozen of those superfluous apostrophes on its menu board. It was one of those changeable menu boards where you push plastic letters and punctuation into groves to form the message. The sandwiches were good, so I was a regular customer. But I always wanted to ask them if they had to order an extra goddamned bag of apostrophes!
Immanentize
@psycholinguist:
One too many “nots”? Or as Betty prefers, “not’s”
I think they knew by sometime yesterday whether she was going.
Roger Moore
@Mike in DC:
The key thing is that these things feed on each other. The more the public supports impeachment and removal, the more emboldened the media and fence sitting Republicans will be to come out in favor of it. The more the media and Republican officials come out in favor of it, the more the public will support it. Once this hits critical mass, opinion is going to move really fast, and it’s just about there.
Adam L Silverman
@SWMBO: He got peeved at something I wrote on the morning we were waiting to see what Pelosi was going to do about impeachment: kick the can again, dip a toe in, go all in. He expressed this in a comment that he was tired of reading this stuff here. I replied that no one was forcing him to be here or read it. My meaning was: if you don’t like this post, just skip it or go do something else for a while. He hasn’t been back since.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Immanentize: trump appointee Neomi Rao dissented, and her opinion is getting shredded on the twitters by people who know more than I do, which is everybody
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker:
Ha! They probably got a good deal on punctuation and decided — why let it sit fallow? Also, the extra work and care taken to get it wrong. Probably went to one of Frank Biden’s schools.
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Neomi Rao is one serious hack.
SWMBO
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks for the update. I like Baud’s wit. I hope he finishes whatever he went to do and comes back soon.
geg6
@SWMBO:
Yeah, me too. I hope he’s okay and he’s back on the campaign trail soon.
randy khan
@TaMara (HFG):
The D.C. Circuit’s website is slammed. I’ve now been waiting a couple of minutes just to get to the front page.
Kay
@Marcopolo:
It’s good politics, especially in Michigan where DeVos is a famous far Right winger from a hugely powerful family. She was only unknown nationally. She’s well known there.
Warren said something to the effect that the judge had to threaten jail time to get DeVos to comply with the order on the student loans. It is true that the magistrate, I think it was a magistrate, listed the possible sanctions for contempt (she said she was glad she had jail time as an option) but it is also true that no way in hell is anyone going to jail.
But students loans are Warrens wheelhouse so I think she should absolutely go after DeVos, constantly. Daily, if possible.
Leto
@Betty Cracker: This is reminiscent of a Monk episode where he’d simply get a ladder and start fixing it. Fiona would ask him wtf he’s doing and he’d simply shake his head, gesture at the apostrophes, and say, “… Noooo….”
@Adam L Silverman: Per the BJ hive mind, once a lawyer enters Congress, all previous lawyerly abilities are thrown out the window and they become incoherent word salad spewers. See Harris v Barr as example 1.
jimmiraybob
@Marcopolo:
Good news from across the river and it seems to me that a southern Illinois R making this statement is significant.
Amir Khalid
@Leto:
How any court can consider a two-year-old all on her own to have adequate legal representation escapes me.
geg6
@SWMBO:
So, apparently he’s taking a page from Tulsi Gabbard’s book. I’d still vote for Baud 2020! anyway. He throws the best tantrums! Or at least he keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t come out of it looking like an idiot like Tulsi.
Steeplejack
@Marcopolo:
From their website yesterday:
Immanentize
@Leto:
That one is simple. Immigration courts are not courts in the Article III of the Constitution sense. They are administrative courts. Think your local DMV hearing to take points off your license.
Immigration ‘Courts’ are overseen by ALJs (Administrative Law Judges) who work for the DOJ and are directed what standard to use or not use and (almost) how to rule in cases.
Article III federal courts still are not completely co-opted by this administration, although maybe 20% have been and many of those are in critical positions like Rao. But there is still time to keep the courts from tipping fully.
psycholinguist
@Immanentize: Whoo, yeah, that was pretty mangled. But my point is she’s showing that their threats are empty. I’ve played out in my head what Pompeao’s options are in response to her testifying in defiance of State, and I don’t see any action on their part that doesn’t make the situation worse for them. Do nothing, and that green lights everyone else currently serving. Fire her, and there’s another article of impeachment, a lawsuit she likely wins, and an even more pissed off rank and file at State. Her willingness to do this seems huge.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steeplejack: I heard it on NPR and MSNBC– Shimkus was already retiring, so it’s that very specific kind of courage…
jimmiraybob
@TaMara (HFG):
They could reinvigerate their wine business by offering the finest of prison varieties made from the best grape juice, toilet water and yeast that nobody wants to know where it came from. Trump Estates Winery.
I’m also sensing the possibility of reviving the cutlery business……only rebranded as a shiv line.
Immanentize
@psycholinguist: Agree. She has the upper hand here. I take it that, after an hour, she is actually testifying and not fulfilling the request to appear but claiming fake privilege.
patrick II
I think letting some (just the ones the White House thinks might help them) testify while holding back others they think may be more harmful witnesses, hurts their court case against subpoenas from the House inquiry that the House has no right to call any witnesses. In court, Trump is asserting both that the House inquiry is illegitimate and Trump, as the SUPERCALIFRAGILITISTIC UNITARY EXECUTIVE, does not have to send any witnesses in this matter to the congressional hearings. By picking and choosing Trump undercuts both arguments.
Kay
Back from his globetrotting luxury trip covering Trump’s ass, the attorney general stops by the propaganda arm to align their stories. The public needs a lawyer. Maybe we can pass a hat and pay for one, in addition to paying Trumps.
joel hanes
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
APPEALS COURT RULES TRUMP ACCOUNTANT MUST GIVE TAX RECORDS TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT PANEL
Split decision, 2 upholding, 1 dissent.
The dissenter was Rao, a Trump appointee.
Of course.
jimmiraybob
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Maybe it will give whoever’s running to replace him on the R side a boost up the old courage scale. I’m in my optimistic phase. Give me a few minutes to adjust.
Ella in New Mexico
@Kay:
I’m ready to bet good money that Betsy can barely operate a Smith Corona typewriter, much less uses Twitter. More likely Church Lady was all snuggled in back home, sipping her 6th extra sweet Old Fashioned.
No, that Tweet was done on her behalf by a squirrely 22 year old Stephen Miller stan who lives in her DC offices’s janitor’s supply room because he can’t afford an apartment.
Marcopolo
@Kay: I was aware of the judge being POed at DeVos because the Dept of Ed was continuing to allow the improper collection of student loan payment, penalties, and fees after the judge had ruled such collections illegal. Did not know Warren had weighed in on that.
At the CNN Townhall, the question Warren was asked by the trans student was what Warren would do, as Prez, to improve/protect trans student rights in schools. In her response, Warren noted that the authorizing language for the Dept. of Ed actually gave pretty broad authority to the Ed Sec for implementing & enforcing school policy in the US. It was after saying that that Warren talked about how awful DeVos was in context.
kindness
If only the House would ask Kamela Harris to be the one to question Sondland. Either that or let the panel’s lawyer do the questioning. When the Congress critters all have 5 minutes it makes a mess of it and the non-paying attention Americans start believing Democrats are the ones who are screwing up.
Leto
@Amir Khalid: Immigration Courts: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) Quick rundown of the shitshow.
@Immanentize:
But that’s not the issue here. The issue is speed/expediency. Most of us don’t understand why it takes months for each level of review. White collar criminals (what we’re dealing with here) understand that if they throw enough shitsand in the system, eventually everything stops moving. They’re doing that because it works. Personally I don’t think judges need to write why this new justification for breaking the law is bad. But again, I’m not in law so…
How many tax return lawsuits have been filed, and how long ago? Which suit was this one? Expediency.
Edit: I hope you and Immp are enjoying the sun today. Don’t spend too much time on here responding to crotchy men ?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kay: ·
last night at his Sixty Minute Hate he was singing their praises. Somebody on twitter called him “President TV Guide”. I like T. V. Fuddlehead, from an old cartoon.
Kay
@Ella in New Mexico:
Dutch conservatives in Michigan are unbearably smug about their (claimed) moral superiority. Warren hit her where it hurts- her sanctimony.
patrick II
@OzarkHillbilly: Yes, and the Secret Service agents will hate being in the cells on either side of him. Until the video cameras for some reason stop recording.
Steeplejack
@Immanentize:
It’s not really a greengrocer’s apostrophe. It’s a usage (that seems to be going out of favor) to clarify certain plurals, often involving single letters or words that end in o, as in “Mind your p’s and q’s,” “Aardvark has three a’s,” “What are the do’s and don’ts here?” or “There are quite a few no-no’s involved.”
The comma that Betty [sic]ced is used to clarify that the s is not part of the Latin phrase but an English plural affixed to it.
zhena gogolia
@SWMBO:
He disappears every once in a while.
Marcopolo
@jimmiraybob: Not to rain on (or rein in) your parade but I doubt it. This is the most conservative & rural Congressional district in IL—including the coal mining area of the state. They are pretty much assured to elect a very conservative Rep.
patrick II
@psycholinguist:
It also may be the reason they have decided to let Sondland testify. And, they can’t do anything to her and it sets a precedent, it may start a flood. Good for her.
So many strong women these days. Come on guys, step up; testify. I’m looking at you McGahn.
Yarrow
@kindness: Yep. The Democrats would benefit from hiring people who understand theater and how these hearings come across on TV. The content is one thing and the presentation is another.
Adam L Silverman
@SWMBO: @zhena gogolia: I emailed him to see if he’s okay. Provided the email he uses to comment here is legit. Otherwise, I have no idea who I emailed.
germy
Rajiv Moté wrote a good piece of satire. Not easy to do nowadays.
mcsweeneys.net/articles/gop-talking-points-for-president-trumps-fifth-avenue-massacre
Aleta
When they cancelled after he arrived, I thought perhaps they needed a lot more time to rehearse him:
“Here’s where you say ‘Trump haters whose agenda is to take down the elected president of United States.’ Then you say ‘As for actual collusion or conspiracy, there was none.’
“And make sure you work in everything on this list: ‘rabbit holes like this hearing,’ ‘petty and personal politics,’ ‘helping people and saving lives,’ blah blah;”
and to calm him down:
“Calm the fuck down! Look at me! No one is going to prison!! Say it !!!”
Immanentize
@Steeplejack:
Betty once called them “greengrocer’s punctuation” (or apostrophes) and I’m sticking with that because it makes me smile. Rare enough event these days.
Kay
@Marcopolo:
Federal education laws are really civil rights laws. That’s the federal area of control in education. When conservatives harken back to the bad old days of when there was little or no federal oversight of education that’s what they’re pining for- when the feds couldn’t reach schools on civil rights. Once you realize that what DeVos is doing makes perfect sense. She’s gutting federal protections for civil rights in an area where it really matters- for children. That’s the broad issue Warren is introducing and DeVos is the perfect foil for what is a long held liberal argument. That we have to have federal laws protecting civil rights. That states rights have to give way.
NotMax
Republicans LOVE to proclaim to the skies that they want to get rid of “waste, fraud and abuse.”
Yet they support Dolt 45.
;)
Steeplejack
@SWMBO:
Recap here.
@Adam L Silverman:
You are absolutely wrong. Baud had comments in many threads every day over the next week, including the morning of the day when you made your “flounce” comment.
cain
Good morning, jackals. Another day, another discovery of laws being broken. Welcome to the Tang Dynasty. Be sure to save the vases.
cain
@Steeplejack:
So youre saying he’s waiting for us.. in the next week?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kay:
he also went on a couple extended riffs about the My Pillow guy (for those who don’t watch TV, some guy buys cheap air time to hawk his miracle pillow, and has gotten rich enough doing it to keep it up and apparently donate money to trump)
Aleta
@Adam L Silverman: Are there blog rules about (except for John) using someone’s sign-in email to contact them if they haven’t reached out to you first, or given permission?
Leto
@NotMax: You’ll hear that among the veteran community, “Oh, I know X and they’re getting more VA benefits/they’re cheating the system” or some variation of that. I always ask them, “Well why don’t you report them? If you know they’re cheating the system, why don’t you report them?” Inevitably they hem and haw, give excuses… but my point is rubbing their nose in their own hypocrisy. As long as it benefits them and theirs, they don’t care. It’s irritating.
Marcopolo
@Steeplejack:
So here’s the thing Steeplejack, I was physically checking the Post Dispatch website every couple of hours yesterday. They never posted any version of this story to the webpage (main or politics section). Yes you could go to the search function on their page and type in “shimkus” and you would get several results that included the article you are showing (which I’d note is from the AP & datelined Chicago) but none of them was actually published to the website. One of the reasons I was checking was I wanted to be able to read the comments from PD readers. As you can see, there are no comments from readers on any of the Shimkus articles you bring up through searching on the PD webpage.
Gin & Tonic
Since Betty mentioned him, I thought I’d put in another good word for William Taylor, another career Foreign Service officer, who certainly appears to be taking the ethical path in a tough situation. It happens that my son has met with him professionally, both in the US and in Kyiv, and has developed a very positive impression. Here’s Christopher Miller’s (an experienced Ukraine correspondent) take on him.
Omnes Omnibus
@Leto: Because that is the process in an Article III court. When someone files at suit, the defendant is given time to respond. Then there is time for motions to be filed and responded to. And so on. The system isn’t designed to be fast.
I understand that the time the courts take can be frustrating to people who are watching from the outside, but there really is no such thing as a simple decision on black letter law. Some facts are always different and that can potentially change an outcome.
As to why administrative hearings can be much faster, they less formal and frequently less tied to the formal rules of evidence. Also, there are avenues beyond the hearing that a losing party can pursue. When I was a state level ALJ, the losing party could appeal my decision to an oversight agency. If they weren’t happy with the result there, they could file a lawsuit in a regular court.
Gin & Tonic
Yovanovitch is giving a deposition, not testimony, right? So it won’t be public?
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack:
Unpossible!
Immanentize
@Leto: @Omnes Omnibus:
Oh Article III courts can work at lightning speed when they want to — See, death penalty habeas corpus litigation.
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I don’t think they went to Minnesota to try to get it in their column, which is what they told the Trump Whisperers at the NYTimes who dutifully transcribed it.
I think they went to Minnesota to deliberately target that House member. To gin up hatred against her.
germy
theroot.com/elizabeth-warren-reportedly-courting-andrew-gillum-as-1838958614
Warren/Gillum ?
It’s a possibility.
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: I have no idea. But every time someone here gets worried about someone and asks if they can be checked on, this is how I do it. I send a message with test and connect in the subject line and that’s it. If I get a response, I get a response. If I don’t, I don’t. Beyond that, I’m not sure there’s much else to say.
Steeplejack
@Adam L Silverman:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Yep. Taylor was both smart and experienced enough to not just get Sondland and Volker to create a paper trail through the texts. And then, when Sondland tried to take the real incriminating stuff away from the texts and into phone calls, Taylor was still able to get it into the texts.
Barbara
@Steeplejack: There are times when I make myself scarce, and those times have especially occurred after some comments I received that I considered to be unduly hostile or personal given how long I have been commenting here. I hope Baud reconsiders.
Kay
It’s perfect for D congressional races. It didn’t get a lot of attention because of the all the crime-committing but they can run on this, and they will.
Immanentize
I have to admit that I kind of enjoy the fact that Baud is stirring the pot even when not present. Like!?
Maybe he is off trying to slip into Gabbard’s debate slot in November?
rikyrah
@TaMara (HFG):
Duck pictures are always appreciated
TerryC
@Mike in NC: Sadly, my son-in-law, a techie in SF, is a doppleganger of Parscale ? in physical appearance only!
Adam L Silverman
@Immanentize:
PJ
@Barbara: Every day on Balloon Juice, if not in every post, there is some asshole making hostile or personal comments about another commenter (and the likelihood goes up if the person being attacked is a new or infrequent commenter.)
Leto
@Omnes Omnibus: @Immanentize: Thanks for the explanation. I’m basically like everyone else, wanting them to move with some more expediency. If the shithead appeals to the SC (which I fully expect him to do), it’s just further delay. I’m tempering my excitement on this because the SC has shown their willingness to overturn all lower court decisions, especially when those lower court opinions all align.
@Barbara: Everyone takes a break at some time. I feel like my time is coming sooner because of how I’ve responded on here lately.
Leto
@Adam L Silverman:
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
Two words are the mantra for news organizations.
Breaking News!
Good reporting? Who gives a shit.
Honest reporting? Who gives a shit.
Being First? Their bosses do.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Leto: I don’t bother to set up a pie filter but there are a handful of commenters I’ve just learned to avoid engaging with
germy
@Ruckus: Whenever we watch ABC News with David Muir, the show always begins with a loud drum sound effect and Muir saying “Breaking News!” about some story I saw ten hours earlier here.
Ruckus
@Mousebumples:
I think we need to revise this for the drumpf dis-organization.
These are No Quality Hires.
Can not have anyone worth more than drumpf in any way working for him, he’s the top of this diarrhea heap, so no quality whatsoever is allowed.
Yarrow
@Ruckus: @germy: I don’t think CNN has any banner other than “Breaking News.” It’s the little bumper before and after commercial breaks. It’s on the corner by the chyron. None of it is breaking and a lot of it isn’t even news.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: You need to tell WaterGirl to get the dev team to have that sound effect here.
Marcopolo
@germy:Gotta admit I consider this a click bait kinda story. While I am sure that Warren has talked to Gillum (and many many other people), I suspect it is more in regards to who to talk to in and how to win in FL rather than VP vetting. After all, we are still months away from the first primary and Warren doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who counts their chickens before they hatch. She is more of a focus on the task at hand kind of person. So I am guessing that either someone in Gillum’s orbit “leaked” this (which might explain the VP stuff in it) or someone even more tangential heard the two had had a conversation and is trying to, as I said at the start, generate some clicks from it.
But honestly, if you wanted to be considered as VP material by a potential nominee wouldn’t it make a hella lot more sense just to keep mum about it? If you were the nominee would you really pick someone as your VP who couldn’t keep a lid on things?
Anyways, just my thoughts which are probably worth less than 2 cents.
Leto
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’ve learned to use it. It’s sparing but it’s improved my overall experience.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow: on MSNBC, they announce breaking news, stop everything, play the Breaking News music and graphic, then announce the breaking news, typically something like: “We’ve been saying all day a subpoena was imminent, and now… BREAKING NEWS… that subpoena was issued. Barb McQuade predicts the White House will challenge the subpoena in court and now…. BREAKING NEWS… the White House has announced its intention to challenge the subpoena in court…”
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: I think I’d prefer the Muppet News Flash! meme myself. Being a Muppet freak and all.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@PJ: Yeah, it bothers me. I’d prefer we criticize those who impede our common goals.
Yarrow
@Marcopolo: Isn’t Gillum doing voter registration/rights stuff in Florida now? If so, maybe she was talking to him about organizing Florida. As Betty C said in a recent morning thread, Warren’s campaign sent her a text inviting her to a Democratic convention or gathering of some sort and her local party didn’t even bother to let her know it was happening. They clearly could be better organized. They’re probably missing a lot of potential votes.
Ruckus
@germy:
This is the rational for why they have all those people in the WH press corp. They could sent one camera and a mike and share the info, but no, they all have to go and end up saying the same shit. And they have to keep their access so they can’t say anything truthful…… It’s a bad circus, a bad circle of bullshit to keep us misinformed while the wealthy take everything not tied down and a lot that is. There are cracks forming, people seeing that theft is OK but being so clumsy, ignorant and open about it isn’t. Some are actually saying the bad parts out loud. What is it that we aren’t hearing/seeing?
Sorry, not in such a good mood today. Maybe it’s the politics…….
Betty Cracker
@germy: I don’t think it’ll happen. Gillum paid a $5K fine as a settlement related to an ethics investigation this year. IMO, the investigation was almost certainly a political hit job, but they did discover some incidents that the average voter might regard as hinky, i.e., Gillum accepting free stuff as a public official in the presence of undercover FBI agents, a formerly very close campaign associate and personal friend who comes across as super-grifty, etc. It sucks, because the former governor (Scott) is an outright crook, and that didn’t put a hitch in his political career. But as we know, white male Republicans don’t have to be squeaky clean, but everyone else does.
Barbara
@PJ: If you say so but I am neither a new nor an infrequent commenter.
Marcopolo
@PJ: While I definitely agree that this place can be really rough on new posters/nyms (we are a verify then trust group for the most part), at the end of the day we do generally come together over our shared outrage/hatred at some R offense to decency.
And also I am a big fan of the pie filter…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
a source of never-ending astonishment, if not surprise, that a fucking MEDICARE SCAMMER got elected by old white people in Florida, but he promised to keep Those People from getting their hands on health care, so… And from several sources I’ve read– second-hand, I don’t know– FL Dems, and Nelson in particular, were/are almost insistently bad at mobilizing the non-Cuban Hispanic vote. I believe Scott travelled to Puerto Rico seven times between the hurricane and election day?
Adam L Silverman
@Leto: I’ve still got to watch the final three episodes of the most reason season. They’ve been sitting on my DVR waiting to be watched. So no spoilers!
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: That’s my recollection as well.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: The Florida Democratic Party is genetically incapable of being able to do politics. At all. Not that they’re just okay. THEY ARE HORRIBLE! They let Rick Scott out hustle them with the Puerto Rican voters in Florida in 2018 because they did absolutely nothing to try to make inroads with them. And the members of the Puerto Rican diasporan community in Florida kept publicly saying they were waiting to hear from the Democrats. Any Democrat.
That Andrew Gillum only lost by 2% is a testament to candidate quality. And that he’s trying to actually fix some of this problem is a good thing and a sign that he recognizes the problem. But he’s had a very low profile since he lost the election last year. Some of that may be him being a workhorse, not a show pony. But usually once a Democrat loses in Florida in a state or Federal level election, they don’t have a political future in Florida.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
trump’s argument for unleashing hell in Kurdish Syria is we need to bring Our Boys home and end endless war
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: And that’s before they restart the whispering campaign that Gillum is a closeted African American man who doesn’t do that good a job of staying in the closet. I do not know and do not care what, ultimately, his sexual orientation is. And it shouldn’t even be an issue in 2019. But it is and it is Florida. So…
Steeplejack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And weren’t infidel American boots on holy Saudi ground the trigger for Osama bin Laden’s jihad?
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Isn’t it just perfect? He’s such a crazy liar. He doesn’t just shade the truth- what he says is the opposite of what he does. Psycho.
VOR
@Kay:
Both. Yes, deliberately targeting Rep Omar was probably a significant reason they went to Minneapolis. The Target Center where the rally was held is in Rep. Omar’s district. Trump is attacking Rep. Omar and turning her into a bogeyman because he or his brain trust thinks it will aid Republican turnout. And yes, it is theoretically possible for Trump to win Minnesota next year. Western Wisconsin, which Trump did win in 2016, is also in the same media market.
Lulymay
I just came across this thread after reading yours. Not US citizen, but I was astonished to find out how easy it is for foreign money to potentially influence your elections. This was especially interesting to me since I recently was on a trip in Russia and one of our tour guides pointed out that there are more billionaires per capita in Moscow than any other major city in the world.
Hope I’m not infringing on anyone’s property here:
juancole.com/2019/10/roberts-citizens-influence.html
Kay
We all know how this ends, right? We find out these crooks sacrificed those Kurds to their personal financial gain.
Because there isn’t a rational being on the planet who believes it was about “endless wars” or “the troops”.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Yep. As far as I can tell the Dems in Florida are terrible. Something really needs to change.
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack: One of them. He listed this as one of his grievances in his manifesto.
Immanentize
@Kay:
Sadly, yes. And we know that it all started the same way. It really is still shocking to me that the Trump City Mob has no understanding or concern about this country. None.
A higher quality gang would be better at hiding the con if only to run it longer
Adam L Silverman
@Lulymay: Not in the least. Welcome.
PJ
@Barbara: My point is that if you are commenting here, you have to expect to receive abuse from another commenter, because most commenters (no, not you, and not you, other commenter that is reading this and is really a nice person and would never rudely lash out at another commenter because they had a different opinion or because you thought their comment was a thinly veiled attack on you even though it wasn’t directed at you) behave like petty, vicious swine at some point or another.
Adam L Silverman
@Kay: Either Erdogan promised him something or this is part of what he agreed to do for Putin back at the summit in Helsinki.
Hoodie
Ok, these people are either idiots or this is a passive aggressive attempt to torpedo Trump. Only a fool like Guiliani would think this is a good strategy.
Josie
@PJ:
I have to disagree with the words “most commenters.” There are a few commenters who have a problem expressing themselves without attacking others. i have found that most commenters are pretty reasonable in discussing their differences. I just scroll past the ones who are always in attack mode and save myself some blood pressure spikes. There is no rule that one has to read or react to everything that is written in the comments.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: responding to Steeplejack:
Oh noes! For a minute I thought you were discussing Baud!
Come back Baud.
Hoodie
@Adam L Silverman: Wouldn’t be surprising if it’s not just the Russians that have kompromat on Trump.
Aleta
I think it would be good to clarify, so commenters know “how the info they provide will be used” (as the privacy saying goes). A comment that looks to you like a request that you should act on, might be one, or not; but, IMO the more important question is whether the commenter you are writing to feels comfortable with a FPer using their email or looking at their IP address.
If this privacy-related privilege and role automatically goes with being a FP-writer here, that should be understood by FP-writers and comment-writers and also just-readers. My thinking is that for some commenters, not all, privacy assurances affect whether they decide to trust writing here. Btw, there is nothing cowardly about using a nym–it’s been a given at BJ that it’s the writer’s choice, for good reasons.
Barbara
@PJ: No one should “expect” to receive abuse. Sorry to disagree with you.
Elizabelle
@Aleta: FWIW, I appreciate that Adam does check on jackals from time to time. To my knowledge, he has never abused that privilege.
If privacy is important to BJ commenters, there is nothing to stop them from setting up an email account solely for dealing with Balloon Juice, is there?
Obviously, changing ‘nyms and email addies constantly will result in delay to one’s comments appearing, as the system does not recognize the commenter.
A lot of us know each other now “in real life” too, and I don’t see anyone “outing” each other with real names.
Ruckus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I know you know this but trump lies. It’s one of his constants. He always lies. About everything. Most/some people attempt to be honest most of the time. If for no other reason it’s easier. Being trump he does everything wrong. He so obviously lies that he gets caught all the time. The old line, “You know he’s lying, his mouth is moving!” That was penned with someone just like trump in mind.
Ruckus
@Kay:
As always, follow the money.
None of the people drumpf “hires” are honest money earners. Their talents are lying and theft and that’s it. At one point a very long time ago the republican party may have stood for some actual principles. Not now. The only “principles” they have now are lying and theft.
Elizabelle
@Ruckus: Good luck to all friends caught up in the Saddleridge fire. Seems this is gonna be a tough fire season.
And thank you for your kind comment day before yesterday. I did see it. Agree, people are all nerved out this election season. With good reason.
Adam L Silverman
@Hoodie: It isn’t just the Russians.
Kay
@Ruckus:
It’s all fun and games and long lunches at the Trump properties until they make one of their sleazy deals with the wrong party and people start getting killed. They believe all that bullshit about business- that they’re are “killers” fighting “battles” when they’re haggling over a fucking real estate deal. Now it’s real – a real war with armies – and no one listens to these coddled, entitled clowns.
Kay
Mark Murray
Verified account
Oh, look you guys! A grown up professional. Haven’t heard from one of them in years. No wonder they pushed her out. One higher quality hire among the bottom of the barreler’s really stands out.
Gin & Tonic
@Josie:
Shit, *now* you tell me…
Ruckus
@Kay:
Yes.
trump did exactly the wrong thing, for exactly the wrong reason, as he always does, and then his sycophants are amazed that it all goes wrong. When it was his bank account that got the brunt, no one cared. But now it’s thousands/millions of innocent lives at stake and of course he’s such a buffoon and diseased personality that he thinks it’s everyone else’s fault.
This presidenting stuff is important. Not for the president’s bottom line, like trump thinks, but for all of ours, everyone in the world.
Gin & Tonic
@Kay: Well, she’s a career Foreign Service officer, so not a recent hire. And she was placed in the Ukraine position by President Obama, not Trump.
I appreciate your “low-quality hires” refrain about the Trumpists, but the career Foreign Service is, in my experience, people committed to American ideals which I suspect they share with you. The ones I know are uniformly aghast at the current administration; not all are in a position to express that publicly.
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: You know, you’re right. The next time someone posts a comment that they need help from EMS, but can’t get through or threatens to commit suicide in the comments to a post, I’m gonna do nothing because we don’t have an official policy that has been officially posted and that everyone who is commenting is aware of while that person may be making a final decision to a temporary problem and all the other commenters are screaming at me to do something. Instead I’ll go get dinner and catch a movie.
Josie
@Gin & Tonic: Lol. Better late than never…..
Marcopolo
Just dropping this (maybe breaking news) in here:
Rudy Giuliani’s relationship with arrested men is subject of criminal investigation
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: Now now. I think it’s great that you (and other Front Pagers) have a backdoor way to check on all too human jackals.
You know that. And you (and others) do not abuse the privilege.
Kay
@Gin & Tonic:
Oh, I think she’s great. I really haven’t heard a professional in years. The contrast is stark. I had forgotten these people exist. It’s reassuring. That is why they fired her too- has to be 100% hacks or the bar is too high and they look bad. Well, worse.
Elizabelle
@Kay: I feel so badly for all the career government professionals — the good ones — who have their last years in service destroyed by our traitor in the Oval Office. We have seen a parade of them.
Please let Trump and his administration be destroyed soon.
Woodrow/asim
@Adam L Silverman: That was a respectful request that BJ — not you, Adam, specifically — develop a policy for understanding how people’s privacy works, given the data provided on this site. Nothing in what I read [EDIT: from] Aleta indicated she through[t] said policy should over-ride, say, Good Samaritan laws.
You are, literally, a Policy Person. It’s part of why I enjoy reading your posts. You have the education, and experience to think thru a host of issues aligned to your day job, and beyond. And to share them and debate them with audiences.
As such, this response from you felt wildly out of scale with what’s being asked. I would respectfully ask you re-consider it, and the overall ask.
Thanks.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Marcopolo:
so concise, so cold, I love it
Mr. Mack
Probably chiming in too late, but on the hope that Baud is lurking…I used to read and comment everyday on a FB page hosted by a guy I used to read during the Bush years. I thought he was an important voice, he was young and could turn a phrase so I kept up with him. Recently, he has begun to value clicks more than heartfelt comments and has cheapened his brand IMO. His page is now chock full of mindless sycophants so I don’t bother anymore. Obviously, this was not the same situation, but Adam is not writing for clicks, and perhaps was busy or annoyed and may have seemed abrupt with his reply. My point is that both of you seem like great people, so unless you’re taking a break to clear your head (which I do from time to time) I think a bunch of jackals would appreciate your return.
JoyceH
Something that occurred to me recently. Ukraine and Turkey have been much in the news lately, and with the spotlight focused on them, it’s clear that this administration’s foreign policy there has been bottomless sleaze and self-dealing, mostly carried out by Trump-connected amateurs. What if Ukraine and Turkey aren’t anomalies? What if they’re ALL like that? If investigative reporters went out and did deep dives into our embassies at Brazil or Greece or Latvia, would they just find more of the same?
debit
@Adam L Silverman: I assume that if I must give my email address on any website it’s going to be used somehow, so I don’t worry about it. That being said, I understand where Aleta is coming from and think you’re being overly harsh.
donnah
On MSNBC just now, Steve Mnuchin said that Trump has warned Turkey that there will be sanctions against their government if they continue to exercise military aggression against the Kurds and if they release any ISIS terrorists. Trump claimed he could devastate their economy if they persist.
It’s escalated beyond threats from a weakened president.
Adam L Silverman
@debit: We don’t actually require a real email or one that works in order for someone to comment. I don’t spend my free time cruising through the comments looking for people’s emails so I can correspond with them.
geg6
@Gin & Tonic:
I have several old friends who are FBI and Secret Service. This is how they express themselves to me. I have never felt sorry for them in all the years I’ve known them. I do now.
Elizabelle
Betty’s put a fresh thread up. Ambassador Yovanovitch spills the tea
Fleeting Expletive
Sondland protested when T dissed the family of a fallen soldier, the Khans, and therefore to pay $1million to the inauguration committee as penance, as one does, apparently. I hope the investigation (by whom?) of the $$ inauguration slush fund explores its contributors’ histories as tribute-payers to the “King”.
debit
@Adam L Silverman: Adam, I don’t for a second think you do. I don’t think anyone believes that.
I assume all of our front pagers are awesome people who can totally be trusted with our information. John Cole knows my address and phone number, which is more than two of my siblings do. But a few years ago there was someone (Tommy?) who had the keys to the place and made threats about doxxing someone here who disagreed with him. John promptly locked him out, but, as far as we know, that was the end of it. I don’t think asking if we have a policy in place to prevent that sort of thing is out of line. That’s all.
joel hanes
@Barbara:
There have been times when the backbiting and acrimony among various jackals have been sufficiently ugly that I have quit reading Balloon Juice for a week or five.
Barry
@Amir Khalid: “How any court can consider a two-year-old all on her own to have adequate legal representation escapes me.”
Pretend you’re Stephen Miller, or anybody in ICE/Border Guard.
Bill Arnold
@Elizabelle:
I’m not seeing the technical privacy exposure TBH. Would take nation-state resources to exploit I think (could be wrong), and is pretty indirect, expressing concern to prompt a ping to an (unknown) email account. (FWIW, anyone seriously concerned about email privacy should be using a secure and optionally anonymous email account (e.g. a protonmail account made with a burner phone, accessed anonymously)) (burner in case protonmail is compromised.)
I do appreciate John’s no-doxing stand. It’s appreciated.
LongHairedWeirdo
This really annoys me. The President is lying to a foreign country saying “some of my people did some *REALLY* bad things.”: So he’s been trying to put US citizens into significant legal jeopardy in other nations, by spreading false information about them.
Now, it’s true: this President is so dull, so venal, he’s probably just thinking about getting some news cycles out of the investigation, and being able to farm out announcements to help with reelection. It’s also true that Ukraine, or China, might decide there’s fame, or concessions, to be made out of a high profile arrest. And if they did make such an arrest, what, exactly, could DJT say about it? Would the Republicans be able to scream that this is a horrible injustice?
J R in WV
@PJ:
How Dare You ~!!!~